Holder for card-indexes and printing-plates.



No. 692,994. Patented-fren. ",1902.y

J. s. nuNcAn'. HOLDER FOB CARD INDEXES AND PRINTING PL'TES.l

(Application led Apr. 15, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(no Model.)

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Patenfd nu. n, |902.

' J. s. DUNCAN. I'IDLDER FDR CARD INDEXES AND PRINTING PLATES'.

A (Application ledlApr. 15. 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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III .III III `GIS NEELI.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.V

JOSEPH S. DUNCAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ADDRESSOGRAPHCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

HOLDER FOR CARD-INDEXES AND PRINTING-PLATES.

S.E".F.CI}3IC.ATIONl forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,994, datedFebruary 11, 1902.

Application led April l5. 1901.

To aZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH S. DUNCAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Holders for Card-Indexesand Printing-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to anovel holder fora card-index andprinting-plate; and its primary object is to provide a novel device forholding a printing-plate of any kind and a card containing informationrelative to the printing-plate, constructed and adapted for use in acard-index system.

A further object of the invention isto provide a holder for aprinting-plate and a card containing information relative thereto,constructed to be arranged in piles one upon the other without injuringor in any way mutilating the printing-surface of the plate.

With these and other ends in view the invention consists in the novelconstruction hereinafter described, and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a face View of one form of my improvedholder, showing a printing-plate and information-card arranged therein.Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2 2 and8 3 of Fig. 1,respectively. Fig. 4. is a face View showing a slightly-modifiedconstruction. Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views on thel lines 5 5 and 66 of Fig. 4, respectively. Fig.` 7 is a face view of a holder embodyingmy invention, the details of construction differing slightly from thoseshown in Figs. l and 4. Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views on the lines 88 and 9 9 of Fig. 7, respectively. Fig. `10 shows a modifiedconstruction of the holder. Figs. 11 and 12 are sectional views on thelines 11 11 and 12 12 of Fig. 10, respectively. Fig. 13 shows a holderconstructed to 'receive a metallic printing-plate. Figs. 14 and 15 aresectional views on the lines 14 14 and 15 15 of Fig. 13, respectively.Fig. 16 shows a holder similar to that illustrated in Fig. 13,butdiffering in details of construction. Figs. 17

and 18 are sectional viewson the' lines 17 17 and 18 18 of Fig. 16,'respectively. Fig. 19 also shows a holder for a metallic printingplate.

Figs. 2O and 21 are sectional views on Serial No. 55,987. (No model.)

the lines 2O 2O and 21 2l of Fig. 19, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denotecorresponding` parts in all of the igures, my improved holder consists,essentially, of a frame in the lower part of whichrthe printing-,plateis removably secured and in the upper part of which a card A designatesthe frame of the holder and is preferably made ofthin metal and providedwith the spacing flanges or ribs B,which are formed bysuitably bendingover the edges thereof. These spacing flanges or ribs are provided inorder that the holders may be piled'one upon the other without engagingthe type characters on the printing-plates, and it is obvious that theflanges may be formed on the top and bottom sides of the frame,as shownin Figs. 1 t-o' 4. and the sectional views thereof, or on the ends ofthe frame, as shown inFigs. 7to 10 and the sectional views thereof.

, On one part of the frame, preferably the lower section thereof, lIprovide guides CD, in which the printing-plate is arranged to slide, andthese guides may be variously constructed, as shown in the severalfigures of the drawings, it being only essential that they shall Vbearranged in substantial parallelism and of sufficient length to hold theprintingplate securely in position, and for this purpose I also providea shoulder E at one end of the plate-section to form a stop for theprintingplate, and at the other end of the printingsection I provide oneor more spring-tongues F, which may be stamped up from the metal frame,as shown, to engage the other end of the printing-plate. Theprinting-plate is provided with side flanges G H, which are arf rangedto slide beneath the guides C D, so that the plate is securely held onthe frame against the end stop E, and in the guides C D by means of thespring-tongue F,Vwhich engages the opposite end of the plate. Theguides, the end stop, and the spring-tongue may all be stamped out ofthe metal frame in the manner clearly shown in Figs. 7 to 10. Ipreferably provide at least two of the springtongues, as shown in thedrawings, in order that printing-plates of at least two differentlengths may be used. The guide C may be cut out of the material formingthe frame and bent up into the proper shape, and the guide D may be madeby bending over the edge of the frame, as shown particularly in Figs. 7

and 13; but the guide D may be also cut out of the frame and bent up, asshown in Fig. 1, or these guides may be otherwise constructed. On theother part of the frame, preferably the upper section thereof, I providedevices for securing the card I in place, these devices consisting,essentially,of clips J, formed by turning over the edges of the frame,as shown in Figs. 1 to `4t, or by stamping them up out of the frame, asshown'in Figs. 7 to 10, in which latter figures I have also shown anadditional clip J at the top of the frame, which may be employed, ifdesired. I have also shown an additional clip J2 at the bottom of thecard section in Figs. 13 and 15, which may be employed for more securelyholding the card in place. The card is slipped underneath these clipsand will be held securely therein; but as the clips are only arranged toengage the edges of the card it can be readily removed from the frame,and I may provide an opening K in the frame back of the card, so thatthe card can be pressed out of the frame by inserting ones fingerthrough the openingin the back of the frame.

I may employv printing-plates of any character in connection with mynovel holder,

and I have shown on Sheet 1 of the drawings several forms of holdersconstructed to receive printing-plates made up of rubber type, and onSheet 2 of the drawings I have shown yseveral forms of holdersconstructed to receive printing-plates in the form of thin metal plateshaving the type characters pressed up in relief thereon. It will bennderstood, of course, that the printing-plate L,

which consists of a holder having lines of rubber type arranged therein,is necessarily thicker than the printing-plate L', shown on Sheet 2 ofthe drawings and consisting of Va metal plate havin g the typecharacters pressed up in relief thereon, and for this reason it isnecessary to make the spacing flanges or ribs B` on the former holderswider than on the latter holders to prevent the holders from engagingthetype characters when the holders are arranged in a pile. In otherrespects the holders for the two diiferent specific forms ofprinting-plates may be constructed exactly alike and the differencesmentioned relate only to the proportions of the parts.

In order that my improved holder may be used in a regular card-indexsystem, I provide a tongue M atv the top of the frame, which may bestamped out of the frame itself and bent up into proper position orconstructed in any other suitable manner. This tongue is arranged toreceive the index characters by which the holders are separated intogroups `in a manner similar to ',the ordinary index system, and anymeans may be employed for applying saidindex characters to the tongues.These tongues are provided on all or only 4certain holders, as desired,and they are preferably arranged in different positions on the differentholders like the card-index system, so that when a-'number of holdersare stored in a drawer or other receptacle the various index charactersof the enti-re quantity will bevexposed to view and may be readily read.

My improved holder provides a convenient means for combining aprinting-plate with the card containing Aimportant information relatingto the plate, the plate and card'being removably secured in the holderand arranged so that the entire device maybe run through the machine fortaking an impression from the plate. These printingplates generally bearnames and addresses to which circulars, bills, and other printed matterare sent at more or less frequent intervals, and by combinin g directlywith each printing-plate a card containing information relating directlythereto a definite record can be preserved as to each particularaddress. In 'this Way entries may be made from time to time noting thedates on which the address has been used and any other information whichmay be desired, and the card is so arranged in the holder that it isprotected and will not become inked during the impression operation.When the rubber-typeprinting-plates are employed, the printing-facesthereof will of course lie in a plane a sufficient distance above thecard so that the inking-roller will not engage with the card; but whenthe thin metal plates are employed, as shown on Sheet 2 of the drawings,I prefer to depress the card-section of the frame, so that the card willlie in a recess, and thereby be below the impression-surface of theplate. The card-section of the holders for the type-plates L may also bedepressed, if desired, to form a recess for more securely holding thecard, as shown in Fig. 6, or the same result may be obtained bydepressing both plate and card sections of the frame between the'shoulders P P at the side edges thereof, as shown in Fig. '3.

As before stated, the spacing anges or ribs vmay be arranged on the sideedges or on the end edges of the frame, and they may also be located onthe back of the frame, as shown in Figs. 1 and 13 and their sectionalviews, or on the face of the frame, as shown in Figs. 4 and 16 and theirsectional views. I prefer IOO IIO

vprising a frame provided with a printingplate section and acard-section, and devices on the holder for removably secu ring saidplate and card thereto, substantially as described.

2. A holder of the character described conn-V prising a frame formed ofa single sheet of metal and provided with a printing-plate section and acard-section and devices integral with the frame for removably securingsaid plate and card thereto, substantially as described.

3. A holder of the character described comprising a frame having aprinting-plate section and a section depressed below the printing-platesection to receive a card.

4. A holder of the character described coinprising a frame having aprinting-plate section, a section depressed below the printingplatesection to receive a card, and clips at the edges of said card-sectionto engage the edges of the card and hold it in place in the frame belowthe face of the printing-plate.

5. A holder of the character described comprising a frame having aprinting-plate section and devices for securing a printing-platethereon, and a depressed card-section and devices for securing a cardthereon, substantially as described.

6. A holder of the character described comprising a printing-platesection and a cardsection and devices for securing a plate and a card onsaid sections, and spacing flanges 'or ribs on opposite edges of saidframe, substantially as described.

7. A holder of the character described comprising a frame having aprinting-plate section, guides at the edges of said section to receivethe edges of the printing-plate, a stop at one end of said section and aspring-tongue at the other end thereof to engage the ends of theprinting-plate and hold it against endwise movement, substantially asdescribed.

8. A holder of the character described comprising a frame having aprinting-plate section, guides adjacent to said section to receive theedges of said printing-plate, a stop at one end of said section and aspring-tongue at the other end thereof, a card-section and clipsadjacent to said card-section for retaining the card in place thereon,substantially as described.

9. A holder of the character described comprising a printing-platesection and devices for securing a printing-plate thereon, alcardsectionand devices forl securing a card thereon,and an index-tongue at the topof the frame, substantially as described.

10. YThe combination of a rectangular frame, a printing-plate removablysecured on the frame, and spacing anges or ribs on the frame formed bybending opposite edges of the frame to provide a clearance above eachplate when a number of frames are piled, substantially as described.

l11. A holder ot the character described, A

comprising a frame having a printing-plate section and a card-section,in combination with a printing-plate and a card removably secured onsaid sections, and spacing flangesv JOSEPH S. DUNCAN.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE D. WoRrHINGToN, WM. O. BELT.

